Girdle



Feb. 28, 1961 H. P. KURZMAN GIRDLE Filed Jan. 7, 1959 INVENTOR Harold I? urzmcm (I ,1 7 ATTORNE GIRDLE Harold P. Kurzman, New York, N.Y., assignor to Lily tizf Flri'ance, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Filed Jan. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 785,389

6 Claims. (Cl. 128--547) This invention relates to undergarments and more particularly to girdle-type foundation garments designed to encircle the torso and provide selective abdominal and rear suport and control to the body of a wearer.

It is the function of all foundation garments, especially that class of foundation garments generally referred to as girdles, to produce a slimming appearance of the body of a wearer, and additionally to provide a measure of support and control, particularly in the abdominal and buttocks regions of the torso.

Recognizing this problem, varied means have been devised in which constraining forces have been applied to the several parts of the anatomy with a fair measure of success. However, in any of the various mechanical methods employed in which a restraining force is applied to the body, the epidermal tissues are redistributed to another point, and as a result, the total emendation of the figure is inefiicacious.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a garment which will furnish simultaneous support and control to the entire abdominal and buttocks regions as well as to localized areas of such regions to furnish selective support and control of the female figure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment which will furnish pin-point control of the female figure distorted as a result of general controls.

A further object of this invention is to provide a garment able to produce maximum control of the figure in order to slenderize the female figure and thus produce a superior attractive appearance.

Still another object of the present invention is the pro vision of a garment which will prdoduce corrective control to those areas of the anatomy distorted by generally used mechanical controls.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a garment which will provide a flattening pressure at selective localized points so as to confine and control that part of the figure which would otherwise tend to round out or bulge.

A final object of this invention is the provision of a garment which will not interfere with normal bodily movement, be comfortable to the wearer, be attractive in appearance and be economical to manufacture.

In general, achievement of the foregoing objects and advantages is secured by the provision of a girdle essentially of a plurality of panels of a particular relationship, and seamed at strategic areas to cause a locking effect on the fabric so that it will exert specialized tensions and operate to control and confine those areas of the female figure which would otherwise tend to round out or bulge, in order to produce a superior attractive appearance.

Other objects, advantages and inventive characteristics of this new and unique garment structure will become apparent to those versed in the art, from the following description of a particular embodiment of this invention, as illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the garment con structed according to this invention; and

2,972,992 Patented Feb. 28, 1961 Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the rear of the same garment.

Referring now to the drawings, in which similar reference characters identify similar parts in the several views, the construction of the girdle consists of a front panel 10, and a rear panel 20, each formed of woven elastic fabric, having a primary horizontal stretch characteristic.

The front panel 10 with an underlying panel 11 having a coextensive side edge with said front panel 10, and the rear panel 20 also with an underlying panel 21 having coextensive side edges with said rear panel 20, such underlying panels, presently to be described, are joined together along their side edges at the right and left to form the right and left side seams 12 and 13 respectively, of the garment, while the top and bottom edges of said front and rear panels constitute the top and bottom edges of the garment.

The front, 11 and the rear 21 underlying panels, previously referred to, are made of woven material and have a horizontal stretch characteristic, substantially congruous to front panel 10 and rear panel 20. Such underlying panels 11 and 21 are generally disposed to overlay a majority of the area of said front and rear panels 10 and 20, respectively, substantially along a horizontal plane.

Along the upper and lower edge of the front underlying panel 11 and generally in a lateral plane, running from the right seam 12 to the left seam 13, a series of alternating obtuse and acute angles are cut therefrom. In the particular embodiment of the invention, four obtuse and three acute angles, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, a portion of which are shown, are cut along the top as well as the bottom edge. However, the number and sizes of such angles are entirely'dependent upon the particular size and amount of stress neededfor a particular garment and it is therefore understood that the number of such angles are by way of representation only. Along the upper and lower edges of the rear panel 20 said edges have cut therefrom a'pair of obtuse angles 22, 23, and acute angles, 24, 25, a portion of which is shown. That portion of the underlying panel generally in the center is coextensive with the top and bottom edges of the rear panel.

In forming the garment, the front underlying panel 11 is joined to the front panel 10 by stitching, using nonstretchable thread, to form a series of patterns running from the top of said front panel to the bottom thereof. Centered in said front panel 10 and following along and beyond the angular edges of the superposed panel, the

stitching generally forms the pattern of a kite 30. To the right and left of this centered kite pattern 30 there is a second conformation of stitching, forming irregular quadrilaterals 31, 32, which cut across the lines of stitch ing of said centered kite pattern 30 to form two smaller irregular quadrilaterals 33, 34 of stitching within the centered kite pattern 30 on its left and right.

A third conformation of stitching on the right and left sides of the front panel 10 in the form of obtuse triangles 35 and 36 respectively, with the side seams 12 and 13 forming the base arm thereof, the obtuse triangles 35, 36, lying generally in the direction of the central portion and approximately midway the garment, cross the irregular quadrilateral conformations 31, and 32 of stitching contiguous thereto, and in so crossing, form approximate parall lnnrams 37, 38. In stitching the rear underlying panel 21 to the rear panel 20 four angular non-stretchable stitching conformations are formed thereon. On either side of said rear panel 20 a conformaiton of stitching substantially forming obtuse triangles 40, 41 respectively, with the side seams l2 and 13 respectively, of the garment forming the base arm thereof, and the obtuse angles lying generally in the central portion of said rear panel, cross and overlap a conformation of stitching which runs from the upper edge of the garment generally in the midstitching thus crossing each other at four points 44, 45,

46, 47, substantially in the lower portion of said rear panel 20 form smaller conformations approximating parallelograms 48, 49. p

It will be seen that at those areas where the quadrilateral conformations 32, 34, 37, 38, 48, 49 are formed by the crossing of the stitching, a locking effect of the fabric results within said areas to create a greater mechanical stress along that region where such stitched configurations are so disposed. It will be noted too, that the particular regions where such conformations are strategically placed are those regions of the body where maximum control is required.

The action of the unique superposed angularly formed edges of the underlying panel and the overlapping interlocked stitching thereon although somewhat analogous to the control furnished by an inner belt pulled tightly in areas where maximum control is required, furnish a gradual radial distribution of bulges of the wearer rather than merely a redistribution of such bulges from one point to another.

I claim: 7 v

1. An undergarment of woven elastic material including a tight-fitting, body-encircling structure comprising a front panel, and a rear panel, a front and rear underlying panel superimposed upon said front and said rear panels respectively, the side edges of said front and rear underlying panels being coextensive with the side edges of said front and rear panels respectively, said side edges of said front panel and said underlying frontpanel being vertically joined to the side edges of said rear panel and said underlying rear panel; the upper and lower edges of said underlying front and rear panels being formed in alternating acute and obtuse angles; said underlying panels being superimposed upon said front and rear panels re spectively, forming a series of' irregular quadrilateral patterns upon the bases thereof.

2. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said underlying front panel is affixed to said front panel by stitching, said stitching forming a kite pattern centrally located in said panel, a second irregular quadrilateral stitched pattern to the right and left of said kite pattern, and overlapping a part thereof to form two smaller irregular quadrilateral stitched patterns on each side of said kite pattern, a third conformation forming a substantially obtuse triangularly stitched pattern at the right and left sides of said front panel with the right and left side seams of said garment forming the base arms of said'obtuse triangles and the obtuse angles thereof overlapping said second irregular quadrilateral on each side of said kite pattern and forming an irregular parallelogram to the right and left of the central portion of the front panel.

3. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said rear underlying panel is attached to said rear panel to form four angular stitched conformations overlapping to form smaller stitched conformations.

4. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said underlying rear panel is affixed to said rear panel by stitching, said stitching forming an irregular hexagonal figure centrally located in said panel, and a second conformation to the right and left of said irregular hexagonal figure forming substanitally obtuse triangles with the right and left side seams of said garment forming the base arms of said obtuse triangles, the obtuse angles thereof overlapping the right and left sides of said irregular hexagonal figure and forming approximate parallelograms thereon.

5. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said underlying panels are attached to said front and rear panels with non-stretchable thread.

6. An undergarment according to claim 1 wherein said garment is made of woven elastic fabric having a primary horizontal stretch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,575,460 Niedermann Nov. 20, 1951 2,663,871 Erteszek Dec. 29, 1953 2,705,799 Frischer Apr. 12, 1955 2,825,340 Robbins Mar. 4, 1958 2,838,051 Laguzzi June 10, 1958 

